Schwartz Illustrated

September 7 and 8
LIMASSOL, CYPRUS

September 7th was a day of rest as the ship was traveling from Turkey to the island country of Cyprus. A professor from Cambridge was giving a lecture on Alexander the Great which we attended with the kids. It turns out that Alexander was only 18 years old when he began his conquests. Unfortunately, the lecture gave our Alex ammunition to use against his brother. Alex told Andrew that he was the modern day "Alex the Great." Alex continued to torment Andrew for the rest of the day with his new found title.

The ship arrived at the port city of Limassol, Cyprus and off we were on another tour. Our tour guide was excellent and very proud of her country. The people of Cyprus do not hide the fact that they view with disdain, the Turkish invasion of the island in 1974. Today, Turkey occupies 37 % of the island and U.N. peacekeeping forces have been on the island for 26 years. In the town of Nicosia, there is literally a green line that runs through the city dividing the country between the occupied and unoccupied areas. On one side of the line is the government-held Cyprus and on the other side is the area that is being held by Turkey. Peace reigns in the country now, however, the Greek descendants of Cyprus are very bitter at the Turkish occupation.

Cyprus is the 3rd largest island in the Mediterranean and has a population of 630,000. The history of the island goes back almost 9,000 years! There is evidence of a Neolithic settlement in Khirokitia. We visited the sanctuary of Apollo Hylates where the buildings were built in 200 A.D. We then visited the ruins of a house owned by a fellow named Eustolios. The mosaics in his villa were spectacular and what was interesting to see was his change in belief from pagan ideals to Christian beliefs as evidenced by the mosaics in his villa.

Our favorite part of the day was a visit to the mountain village of Omodos which is famous for its vineyards and lace. The village was charming with stone streets and brightly colored doors. There was a main square where most of the tourists were having lunch so we decided to leave that area and take a quiet, narrow road instead. We came across a charming restaurant that was below street level. In the open air entry way, a chess board was sitting on an old oak wine barrel. The kids immediately went to play as Mike and I ordered lunch. A little while later, a local boy saw the boys playing chess and came in to watch. He spoke Greek and English and asked Andrew if he could play. Andrew and the boy were involved in a very tight game. Andrew said, "that was the scariest game I ever played because it was so close."

Cyprus was a charming country. The unoccupied part of Cyprus enjoys prosperity and a high percentage of the population attend university. Unemployment is low and Cyprus in not dependent on tourism alone since there are many viable industries. We would have enjoyed spending more time in Cyprus but we had to get back to the ship because it was leaving port in two hours!

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	September 7 and 8 LIMASSOL, CYPRUS September 7th was a day of rest as the ship was traveling from Turkey to the island country of Cyprus. A professor from Cambridge was giving a lecture on Alexander the Great which we attended with the kids. It turns out that Alexander was only 18 years old when he began his conquests. Unfortunately, the lecture gave our Alex ammunition to use against his brother. Alex told Andrew that he was the modern day "Alex the Great." Alex continued to torment Andrew for the rest of the day with his new found title. The ship arrived at the port city of Limassol, Cyprus and off we were on another tour. Our tour guide was excellent and very proud of her country. The people of Cyprus do not hide the fact that they view with disdain, the Turkish invasion of the island in 1974. Today, Turkey occupies 37 % of the island and U.N. peacekeeping forces have been on the island for 26 years. In the town of Nicosia, there is literally a green line that runs through the city dividing the country between the occupied and unoccupied areas. On one side of the line is the government-held Cyprus and on the other side is the area that is being held by Turkey. Peace reigns in the country now, however, the Greek descendants of Cyprus are very bitter at the Turkish occupation. Cyprus is the 3rd largest island in the Mediterranean and has a population of 630,000. The history of the island goes back almost 9,000 years! There is evidence of a Neolithic settlement in Khirokitia. We visited the sanctuary of Apollo Hylates where the buildings were built in 200 A.D. We then visited the ruins of a house owned by a fellow named Eustolios. The mosaics in his villa were spectacular and what was interesting to see was his change in belief from pagan ideals to Christian beliefs as evidenced by the mosaics in his villa. Our favorite part of the day was a visit to the mountain village of Omodos which is famous for its vineyards and lace. The village was charming with stone streets and brightly colored doors. There was a main square where most of the tourists were having lunch so we decided to leave that area and take a quiet, narrow road instead. We came across a charming restaurant that was below street level. In the open air entry way, a chess board was sitting on an old oak wine barrel. The kids immediately went to play as Mike and I ordered lunch. A little while later, a local boy saw the boys playing chess and came in to watch. He spoke Greek and English and asked Andrew if he could play. Andrew and the boy were involved in a very tight game. Andrew said, "that was the scariest game I ever played because it was so close." Cyprus was a charming country. The unoccupied part of Cyprus enjoys prosperity and a high percentage of the population attend university. Unemployment is low and Cyprus in not dependent on tourism alone since there are many viable industries. We would have enjoyed spending more time in Cyprus but we had to get back to the ship because it was leaving port in two hours! ----------

	© All Rights Reserved, Mike Schwartz, 2001.